Windows Phone Thoughts: Protect Your Data By Making It Self-Destruct

With any kind of mobile device, especially those used by employees to store and use corporate information, security is a paramount concern. The three-digit power-on password of Pocket PCs is admittedly not inpenetrable, and numerous solutions have been developed to further block unauthorized access to Pocket PCs and their guts. According to a ZDNet article, St. Louis-based mobility specialist Asynchrony Solutions has come up with a new way to make sure that, even if your device "falls into enemy hands," its precious cargo remains unusable.



Like similar security applications, "PDA Defense" provides careful encryption and password protection. However, an added feature allows the owner to configure PDA Defense to completely destroy sensitive data if there are numerous failed password attempts or if the Pocket PC is not synchronized with its host PC within a certain number of hours.

PDA Defense seems to be fairly flexible, because the user can determine exactly which applications' data is encrypted and wiped during a self-destruct. You can download a free demo or buy the full single-user version for $29.99 from Handango. Enterprise licenses for multipe users can be obtained directly from Asynchrony Solutions.

Now, if somebody REALLY wanted to get at my secret, coveted recipes for "Bologna Surprise" and "Wienie Wonder," he could still crack open my Pocket PC, yank out the RAM chips and attack the encryption algorithm with a powerful PC. Still, PDA Defense offers a new level of protection against all but the most dedicated and knowledgable hackers.